MJF on He Wouldn’t Jump To WWE For Less Money or For “WrestleMania Moment” Unlike Others, Tony Khan Understanding Value of Traveling Champion, AEW World Title Scene Being The Best Its Ever Been, & More

Instinct Culture’s Denise Salcedo held a recent interview with MJF. One of the topics discussed included MJF’s thoughts about how he wouldn’t jump from AEW to WWE for less money or just to have a “WrestleMania moment” for his wrestling career.

“People will jump to the other place to get booked the same and or worse and be compensated for less. Why? I don’t know. If the answer is legacy, you know what I want my legacy to be? I want my legacy to be that my children are going to be able to afford to go to any school they want. They’re going to be able to afford to go to any restaurant they want. They’re going to be able to go on vacations. They’re going to be able to wear the nicest clothes. And that’s happening because I get compensated what my talent is worth.

I’m not going to settle for less compensation so I get to have a WrestleMania moment. That doesn’t make sense to me.

I can assure you, if you make a big enough name in All Elite Wrestling, your legacy is going to go a long way in this fan base. No one’s ever going to forget the name MJF.”

MJF also gave his thoughts about while he considers AEW CEO Tony Khan “a mark,” he also believes that Khan fully understands how difficult it is to be a pro wrestler and compensates his athletes what they deserve to be worth.

“I think it’s really important to pay your pro wrestlers, to pay your fighters, to pay your football players, your soccer players, your baseball players, what they deserve to be compensated.

Tony Khan, is he a mark? Yes. But he’s also caring and genuine and understands what we’re doing. We’re putting our bodies on the line for him to make money. So the least he can do is shill some of that back to us.”

In a separate recent interview with Yahoo Sports’ Uncrowned, MJF also gave his thoughts about how Khan understands the value of a traveling World Champion and how Khan has given him the freedom to work outside of AEW unlike WWE under Vince McMahon’s ownership.

“The likes of Buddy Rogers and Harley Race … Jack Brisco, Dory Funk, these gentlemen would travel around, not just their local territory, but around all of the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Japan, Australia, and they would wrestle whoever was deemed the best of the best in that local territory or area.

“Another thing is we have lost the history and the tradition of our sport, because for a very long time, professional wrestling was a monopoly. It was WWE, and that’s it. The idea of seeing — I’m just going to use an example — John Cena at your local independent company was sacrilegious to a Vince McMahon. But to a Tony Khan, who both understands and respects the idea of a traveling champion, it’s not ridiculous.”

MJF also gave his thoughts about his belief that the AEW World title picture right now is better than it has ever been in AEW history.

“This is the most competitive the top of the card has ever been in the history of our seven-year-old promotion. You have me, Hangman, Swerve [Strickland], Jon Moxley, Kenny Omega, Samoa Joe, Andrade El Idolo. Now you’ve got Brody King, who just popped up there and he fits like a glove, whether I want to admit it or not. You’ve got your Kyle Fletchers of the world, who are chomping at the bit, and your [Konosuke] Takeshitas, who are chomping at the bit. I mean, the list goes on and on — and that’s the scary part.”

MJF also gave his thoughts about him working two matches in two different countries less than 24 hours apart this past September for CMLL in Mexico City, Mexico and AEW at All Out 2025 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

“Getting on a private jet, flying to Mexico, wrestling [against Mistico] in one of the greatest matches of all time, assuredly the greatest match that’s ever happened in that arena … then flying from Mexico all the way to Toronto, Canada, to wrestle against Mark Briscoe in another all-time classic in a Tables ‘N’ Tacks match in under 24 hours, literally wrestled twice in one day. Unlike Hulk Hogan, I actually did that. A lot of people would look at that schedule and s*** their pants. But that’s just not how I operate. I enjoy, and I would go as far to say I almost have a sexual thrill when you put a challenge in front of me. Because the challenge only develops the chip on my shoulder to be bigger, and the chip that’s on my shoulder has made the man that I am today. The chip grows every time I am judged. The chip grows every time my talents are questioned. The chip will continue to grow, but it’s never going to break me. It only makes me stronger.”

Transcript h/t: F4WOnline.com